Akmal Shaikh executed

[capncnut]

Click for article. Lowdown: Briton caught with four kilos of heroin at Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport, sentenced to death, Human Rights go loopy about it, China says "fuck you", Akmal is executed. Personally I agree with the Chinese government. They have laws that emphatically state the death penalty for drug smuggling and this piece of shit knew that. First he denies all knowledge, which is a joke cos four kilos ain't a bag of peanuts. I don't fall for his family's claims of "he was tricked into carrying the drugs by a criminal gang" either. Then, after learning that China goes lenient on people who are mentally ill, Akmal pulls the "oh, I'm bi-polar" crap. He's just like that Gary McKinnon. Faces multiple life sentences and then starts spouting that he's got Aspergers. Gimme a break! That fuckwit Gordon Brown isn't helping things either, condemning China's government and expressing his anger over it. Relations are bad enough without that fat prick talking shite. Really pisses me off. China + drug smuggling = death. Simple as.

[mista_mo]

You just wait Brett, some fat rich Scotsmen is going to need a liver and WHAM, one six pound bag of Akmal is gonna be tossed into that man quicker then you can say "4 kilos of heroin". God bless China, I love that place. Where else can you buy human organs off the market?

[Danny]

i find it hard to feel sorry for him, i mean was he thinking "wow, these 4 kilos of heroin are gonna save lives!", of course not, he was a drug mule after some cash regardless of how people got hurt by it. I think the death penaltys harsh, but if he was trying to get them into a country where thats the result, trying to risk his life to make money of this junk then he was clearly an idiot to begin with.

[capncnut]

The news is full of this today, and everyone bashing China. It's not as if this man was a reporter, aid worker, or regular law abiding citizen - he's a friggin' drug smuggler!

[Tricky]

Thats because our society has gone soft & we are all told we should take pity on criminals & scumbags by these left wing politicians who were all students & activists in the 60's & 70's I havent got time to go off on the rant im thinking about at the moment as im going out in a few mins, but you get my drift! I can guarantee if the pricks who assaulted me on xmas eve are even caught, they'll get off lightly due to all this softly softly human rights shit too, whereas i'd like to see them publicly birched

[Chic Freak]

I totally disagree. This guy was a complete froot loop with a history of severe mental illness who didn't have a clue what he was doing- he thought he was "on his way to become a popstar" at the time- and his trial was not fair. I am very sad to hear that once again someone with mental health problems has completely slipped through the cracks and effectively been punished in the harsest possible way for being ill!

[AcesandEights]

I keep hearing ironclad opinions on this guy's mental health status. He was faking it. He was definitely seriously ill. Anyone have any definitive, or even arguably decent sources to share on the issue of Mr. Shaikh's mental health? I've only read a few articles and opinion really does seem divided and based on personal preference as opposed to actual facts. Anyway, it seems to me a good effort was put forth on his behalf by both his government and several human rights groups, so I don't know that his case fell through any cracks, and though I think China's government is a haven for barbarous & opportunistic killers, there is no doubt about the law in this case. The only question particular to this instance (yes, I'm ignoring the death penalty debate)is, was this dude really mentally ill, and--if so--was it to a great enough extent that it should mitigate his penalty for breaking of the law? And that's always a going to be a contentious question.

[capncnut]

Anyone have any definitive, or even arguably decent sources to share on the issue of Mr. Shaikh's mental health? The Chinese government say he had no mental health issues when they brought him in. The claims were only made recently in the build up to his execution. Naturally his family and supporters demanded he be tested again but, y'know, there's just no fooling China. Edit: I know it's not much of a consolation to his family but Akmal was orginally supposed to be executed by firing squad. This was then changed to the more compassionate "bullet to the neck" method, before finally dishing it out via lethal injection. I think he was lucky personally.

[Mike70]

the real question is: does the punishment fit the crime? the death penalty in china is applicable to 60 different offenses, many of them non-violent crimes like tax evasion and embezzlement. i have no opinion on this case whatsoever. i haven't followed it and frankly, this is pretty much the first time it's popped up on my radar. but as for china's "legal" system, i have no respect and no use for it. it is an affront to what i feel is paramount in a legal system, in particular, fairness, openness to the public and a concern for the rights of the accused. yes, the rights of the accused are extremely important. i certainly don't want criminals to go free but i do expect, nay demand, that they be found guilty in a fair, open manner; their rights are protected and they are given every opportunity to defend themselves. the rights of the accused aren't trivial nor are they technicalities. they are a fundamental part of any society that bases itself around the dignity of the individual. anyone of us can guarantee that we won't commit a crime. what none of us can guarantee is that we won't someday be accused of one.

[capncnut]

the real question is: does the punishment fit the crime? Of course it doesn't, but that's the rules over there. Get a load of this: This was the song he hoped would make him a star and get him a recording contract. He might've been a nutter but it still don't change the fact he was carrying four kilos of brown sugar.

[Mike70]

Get a load of this: This was the song he hoped would make him a star and get him a recording contract. He might've been a nutter but it still don't change the fact he was carrying four kilos of brown sugar. that is beyond dreadful. in fact, that is so bad it doesn't even suck. they'll have to do better than that to show this "history of bizarre behavior." perpetrating shitty acts of musicality does not make one mentally ill. if it did they'd have to commit everyone who's appeared on american idol, xfactor, and any show with the words "has talent" in its title.

[capncnut]

Now here's the next set: 1. Four kilos of heroin. That's a fuckload of money right there. Would some drug dealer really trust that amount of skag with a total retard? I think not. 2. He claims a guy called Okole gave him a suitcase to take to China and the guy would meet him there. Right, pal. You got the brains to write a song, you got the brains to travel around the world, but you ain't got the brains to think, "mmm... what's in this suitcase?" I'm sorry but this don't fly with me (no pun intended, or maybe it was). You knew what you were transporting, you were stupid enough to do it, and you gave up everybody's names when you were arrested. Come on peeps, think about it. Was he really an innocent mule? I think not. 3. Guy's gonna change the world to God but thinks nothing about smuggling heroin? I think not. Also, some folks are under the impression that the death sentence is too harsh for drug trafficking. Don't moan at me, I'm with you. But you have to understand that heroin kills thousands of people every year, and in China, anything that deliberately causes the death of others is punishable by death itself.

[krakenslayer]

the rights of the accused aren't trivial nor are they technicalities. they are a fundamental part of any society that bases itself around the dignity of the individual. anyone of us can guarantee that we won't commit a crime. what none of us can guarantee is that we won't someday be accused of one. Fucking right man. A lot of people would do well to remember this...

[Andy]

I For one say good on you China. The problem with our country (uk) is that we are now far too willing to make excuses for criminals rather than dish out punishments and thats why our society is the way it is, i would welcome some chinesse justice over here. Also, whether you agree with the death penalty or you think he was mentally ill (yeah right) you shouldnt be condeming china, it is their legal system and i dont think its our place to criticsize it, i dont think our goverment is in any position to criticisize it when quite frankly, our legal system is the joke of the world, where else can you rape a 13 year old girl and get away with a £80 fine? Third world countries have better justice systems than us and our goverment is criticisizing one of the largest and most successful countries of late? Get a fucking grip brown.. Its just like the americans criticisizing the italian justice system for jailing that murderer girl, its their justice system, leave them to it. In short if you do a crime in another country, you should be prepared to face whatever that countries goverment gives you and when our countries get their own damn legal systems sorted out, THEN we can start criticisizing others. Sorry for the mini-rant but ive been listening to this on the radio all day today and it really pisses me off all the people whining about it, im sorry but like brett said, you cant carry that much herion and not know, excuses dont wash with me.

[Tricky]

I'd like the bastards who beat me up on Xmas eve to get an asian style birching for it, but unfortunately even if the police find out who they are, the courts over here will let them off with either a few hours community work or a suspended sentence on the promise they'll behave for a few months, justice? I think not